Somedays I am just not a fan of the information age. It seems like, with the internet, it's pretty doggone easy to find information to support your opinion on something regardless of what it is. It is also usually pretty easy to find something to oppose your opinion. Media really seems to lack the ability to be objective anymore, leaving us to wade through mass amounts of information trying to determine what the truth is. Don't get me wrong, I am a big supporter of being informed, I have suffered the consequences failing to educate yourself can bring, it just seems like it is becoming increasingly difficult to be truly informed.
A big looming issues for parents these days is vaccinations. The opinions on both sides vary so widely (& so passionately) and there seems to be (seems being the operative word) to be information out there that supports both sides. Autism, of course, being the big question mark. Do vaccinations cause Autism in some children? Is it worth the risk to vaccinate? What are the risks involved with not vaccinating? What about putting my kids in public school? The questions are dizzying! The hardest part is that you cannot seem to get a straight answer from anyone!
Here are the conclusions I have reached, this is purely my personal opinion based on some research, some soul searching & some conversations with my ND (& chiropractor but we'll discuss that one later).
1.) Whether or not you should vaccinate is a personal choice. That's a tough call if your kids are in the public school system because they could (if not vaccinated) contract something that is contagious, although in theory if all the other kids are vaccinated you would only be putting other kids at risk that aren't (& those parents should have weighed those odds before their decision). Some kids spend a lot of time in daycare, making them higher risk for catching things, others spend most of their time at home limiting exposure, etc. There should be no judgement involved (emphasis on no judgement), a parent's choice to vaccinate or not should be left to the parent, hopefully that parent has carefully thought out their choice but even if they haven't, it is still their decision. Unfortunately the no judgement part seldom happens but that's another blog entirely. I experienced this when I mentioned to my chiropractor my children were getting shots later that day, it triggered a tirade of questions and insinuations that I was terribly mistaken in vaccinating my kids. He even used the phrase "playing russian roulette with their lives". I walked out of there terrified I had made the wrong choice and feeling horribly judged. Ultimately I went with my original decision and felt peace about it, still it was no fun.
2.) I honestly am not certain how I feel about vaccinations causing autism or any other disease BUT there does seem to possibly be a link...maybe? Here's what I think (again totally my opinion, based on what education I have & research I've done), vaccinations alone are not the culprit. I think there has to be some kind of genetic predisposition which is later aggravated by the vaccinations. Would the autism (or other issue) develop had the child not had the vaccination(s) is impossible to say, once the vaccine has been administered but it seems like there has to be an extra component to the equation. Why you ask? Because if it was simply that A (vaccinations) + B (your standard child immune system) = C (autism or some other disorder) then a lot more kids would be affected. Again, it comes down to personal choice, the pros & cons for each family could be different.
3.) I do not see the harm in spreading out vaccinations one bit. My oldest, in my pre-read up for yourself days, was vaccinated on time, every time until he was a year old. After a year, we had some ear infection issues, delaying vaccinations for some time. By the time my second came along I had decided to wait at least a year before starting vaccinations because there are some they don't give after a year because they are no longer necessary. Again, personal choice, I got to stay home with my kids so they weren't exposed to a lot of other children. Had they been in daycare I may (or may not) have done differently. As it turned out, because life moves so fast, Josh did not receive any vaccinations until he was 2 and Isaiah didn't receive any more (then the first series up to a year) until he was four. I didn't want him to have to have them all crammed in at once so we have slowly been doing them, spreading them out and trying not to get too many at once (you know those shots that come 4 serums to a needle). It just seems logical to me that the less bombarding I do to their immune systems the better, I can spread them out, so I do.
4.) There are some vaccinations that just seem totally unnecessary and the mass producing of new vaccines seems dangerous to me. I do not really care for flu vaccines, Gardasil or the chicken pox vaccine. My personal experience with the flu vaccine left me loathing the thought of ever having another one, I ended up sick with everything under the sun (including the flu) BOTH times I got the shot. I know this is not how everyone reacts but to be honest I am not sure (except for the elderly) why it is necessary in the first place. I know there were influenza epidemics back in the days but most people died of complications of the flu (pneumonia, dehydration, etc..) mostly related to the times they lived in. As for the chicken pox vaccine, again I don't see the need. I know it can sometime be dangerous, usually if contracted later in life (just about any illness can cause dangerous complications given the right circumstances) but does vaccinating totally eliminate that possibility? As for Gardasil, I imagine this is a terribly raw topic for many people and I am not trying to spurn a debate but my opinion is this, there are other ways of preventing the contraction of HPV. It is a sexually transmitted disease and thus standard methods of protection should prevent it. My concern is that vaccinating your children against it may give them the false sense of security and they may fail to protect themselves all together. The vaccine only guards against one kind of STD, it does nothing to protect against the other kinds. Any of you who know me know my stance on abstinence being the best (& only sure way) to protect oneself and I think all children should be taught such (yes I know kids may do it anyway, but that holds true for failing to protect themselves). For those who do not share my opinion, doesn't it seem wiser to teach your kids to be safe, rather than inoculating them? I just don't understand the point of putting something into your body that isn't necessary (not to mention some of the scary stuff that has come out about the vaccine, but again media information is so hard to decipher anymore). I am not, in anyway, trying to minimize the deaths that have occurred from the flu, chicken pox or cervical cancer caused by HPV, every death is tragic.
5.) There are some diseases I really don't want to see making a comeback. While some things we vaccinate against, like measles are not much more life threatening then chicken pox, others are pretty devastating. I cannot imagine watching my child go through something crippling like polio, knowing I could have prevented it. This is where, maybe choosing which vaccinations you want your child to receive and which you don't may come into play.
So there it is, my two cents on vaccinating. I know it is a tough decision every parent has to make. For my part, I have decided to vaccinate, on a much slower schedule. My kids will likely be in public schools, hopefully travel the world someday and it is the decision I am comfortable with. If I can prevent some vaccines, like chicken pox (anyone know someone with it?) or the flu shot, I will. It's an emotional decision to be sure, it certainly didn't help me to be accosted by my chiropractor. It was made worse when Joshua's thigh swelled up after his vaccination later that day. In the end I really just have to trust the Lord with my kids anyway, they are truly His, given to me for a time. I will do all I can to protect them, seeking His wisdom in my decisions. Maybe someday clear concise information will come out, one way or the other. In the meantime I wish you good luck in your own research and peace with your decision.
***Here are a list of articles or websites you may (or may not) find informative, like I said information age= AHHHH!!
3.)
CDC- vaccine information
5.)
Parents Place- this is pretty hardcore anti-vaccine but they have several article links and it's good to read BOTH sides of an argument.
If you have more articles you find informative, please feel free to share, along with your thoughts & opinions. My only request (& I am sure it is unnecessary) is that you be respectful of one another. I know it's a topic with deep emotion involved for many people. Just know that if you have your kids best interests at heart, the other likely does too :)
